3252 Grafts|HLC|June 2022

[Vann]

Before you begin reading this, I just want to note that I wrote this during my time at the clinic both prior and after the surgery. So the time line follows based on what happens day by day so I can best explain it as it happens without missing any experiences. Also, this may become a long post so bear with me.

 

Intro

28, have been on medications for about... 8-9 years, 7 of which were consistent daily. I started taking fin 1 mg then in the last two years I have switched to Dut 0.5 mg (daily).

 

I have curly hair when it grows out long, wavy for the most part, it just depends on what products I use to wash my scalp and the way I let it dry.

For the most part, I have diffuse thinning which honestly is annoying but fortunately, my hair is pretty "dense" in terms of how it covers some of the thinner areas. It definitely helps to mask some weaker spots. I can bunch some hair together to curl but lately, it has been improving. When I started, Fin, my hair loss was really aggressive to the point where I thought it wasn't going to get better. After 2 years on Fin I realized that my hair loss has really started to stabilize and improved drastically. Fortunately, I was a hyper responder at first so I figured it was temporary. Unfortunately, I stopped taking it after because I thought it was a one time deal.

 

Fast forward from that, I started losing hair again but not as aggressively, went back on Fin for about 4-5ish years and switched to Dut. Once I got on Dut my hair really improved in terms of hair shaft size (its density). A lot of weaker hairs really improved, even the hairs I was shedding started to look fuller/thicker. However, after 2 years on Dut I realized this is probably the best the medication will take me.

 

I tried minoxidil but I really hated how it made my hair crunchy/greasy. Also, I didn't notice at the time but it was giving me heart issues. I cannot truly attribute it to minoxidil when I used it on my scalp because I was very stressed. But I experimented with foam/liquid solution on my cheeks to see if I can grow out my facial hair (lack thereof) and experienced palpitations.

 

In terms of my research I probably reached out to many hair mills at first then found youtube videos of people sponsoring the clinics and I figured it must be good. But then I saw techniques such as sapphire FUE and other claims, when I tried to figure out what the difference was and why a surgeon would use steel vs sapphire blades I figured it was just marketing. My logic was that a surgeon should be performing their best to provide the best results regardless of instruments used. I found this forum and became a lurker for... honestly awhile. I never posted or commented, I just read and lurked. 

 

As a result, I reached out to many of the clinics this forum has suggested and took the patient reviews as subjective opinions to what I would do in their position. Once I narrowed my list I directly messaged the people that had an operation with them to get their experience and look up other patients' experiences as well (what this forum is mainly about). I then based my questions on what they had asked, what I wanted, and some of the things they told me they wished they knew before (just lots of research basically). 

*some of my biggest concerns in my research was donor maintenance, surgical techniques, tools, punch size, who performs the operation (dr vs tech), how much involvement does each person have, and probably the most important to me is magnification and skill of the surgeon to prevent collateral damage (punching through native/existing hair and transecting that hair), and transection rate. In my opinion you should always consider asking these questions. I just wanted to note a few so that you can see my point of view and not just the images I will post.

 

My expectation from this HT is to add density to my weaker areas and really fill in to my hairline and mid scalp (maybe a little connecting to the crown to make it natural). I believe that my hair quality will help me get away with using less grafts and given that I am a diffuse thinner I would rather add density all around and not have to wait to see how that unfolds for the future. I know I would rather get it all done at once and have it over with, but sadly I know that this isn't always the case given how I cannot predict future hair loss. But for now my aim is to hide any thinner areas and prevent as much scalp from being visible than currently. My hope for the future is to reevaluate - most likely go more aggressive with density given that my hair loss "should '' really be "stabilized" well with medications at a later age. And I use those quotations because like I said, nothing is 100% certain so my plans may change; perhaps I won't even need a second procedure or maybe this one may need a touch up nothing is for certain. Nonetheless, density is my ultimate goal and not having any visible hair loss.

 

Departure/Arrival

I had my journey set out to HLC in Ankara, Turkey, I just want to note that flying is a pain. It was my first flight after 15-16 years so I was a bit nervous. I was surprised how easy it was for me to leave given all the covid restrictions but fortunately, some of those mandates were lifted a few weeks prior. The travel part was a bit rough. I would say I was awake for a good day and a half until I arrived in Ankara. I was picked up by the driver and taken to the clinic/suite, both buildings adjacent to another (side by side).. 

 

Since I was pretty much wide awake at that point because of the bumpy/uncomfortable ride I started on pre op photos, consent forms, and blood drawings for the test on arrival. Immediately after, I went to my room showered and went to sleep. At this time it was 5pm in Ankara... I woke up at 8 (pm thinking it was 8 am), took another shower and went outside to the lobby asking about breakfast. The funny thing is I confused the guy working there because English is not his first language so he used google translator to explain that it's only lunch/dinner but now it's dinner time. I then realized... It was not morning, it was still night. So for those who travel internationally, I would probably give yourself a day to actually recalibrate yourselves (I'm from the east coast of the U.S.)

 

Therefore, I am currently writing this the night before my consultation which is in about 7-8 hours? I am not exactly sure what time it starts but the coordinator assured me that they will notify me the morning of when they have already sorted their current operations for the day.

 

I must say it feels really surreal to actually be here, I am not sure that it is actually hitting me that I am getting this done but hopefully I can put whatever hair struggles I have to rest once this is done (ideally). I was told that I would need to fully shave my head (which I already figured) but once that was said I remembered I haven't done that in a loooong time, just because I hate the way my hair looks when it's shorter.

 

Consultation

The morning after last night's mistake I went to get breakfast at 7:30 am and met with some of the other patients that had a procedure. Unfortunately, for me I did not have my consultation that day since they seemed to be busy. I was told that I would hear back if they were to do my consultation later in the day. I got a message later that evening telling me that it would be scheduled for the next day.

 

The next day I started with breakfast and went down to the clinic with the other remaining patients. We sat in the lobby for quite some time. I believe the doctors were late or had a meeting that lasted a while. I got to speak with the people who I saw having an operation the previous days and some new faces, which honestly is kinda nice because some had an operation for the first time and some were there for another procedure. To give an accurate timeline I hadn't slept most of the night so I had breakfast around 7:30-7:45 AM and went down to the clinic next door with the other patients around 8 AM. We sat around and slowly they would call us one by one to either insert the plastic IV tubes into your vein or to dye the hair to get a better look at the donor. For me they called me in and inserted the IV tube so they can give me sedative medication to help ease me during the process. I was also given a HLC collar shirt which I was told to wear for the whole duration of the transplant.

 

Just to fast forward to the consultation which did not begin for me until 10:40 maybe closer to 11 AM. I sat down with the owner of HLC and two other doctors who were evaluating my hair (follicles, density, donor, etc.). The owner asked me what my expectations were and the type of results I was hoping to get. I told him I wanted to fix some of my hairline but not lower it, just add density to fix it up and keep it conservative since I could be heading to a high norward. He agreed with me and we looked at the calculations they had between 3 different regions. Region 1 being my hairline would take about 1,000 grafts to close out parts of my temples as well. Region 2 my midscalp and some parts of my crown to connect it for a natural look. Then there was region 3 my crown which I honestly did not care too much about. I was given the option to choose between 30 or 40 cm squared for my midscalp which was about 2250 grafts (30) and 3000 (40). I really wanted density but seeing as how I am a diffuse thinner I would much rather play it safer since I was told my donor is approx. 7000 total (low key heartbreaking to hear since I expected it to be higher than that). I do not know if that is the exact number but an approximation they calculated by measuring my head.

 

Nonetheless, this was a sign that I should definitely play it more conservative since it is my first HT and given that the medications I am taking are the reason why I am probably not a NW ∞+. So I went with 30cm for the midscalp given that my hair is curly. I am hoping it would really help me pull off the lower graft count and I went with 50cm for the hair line which comes out to be 3,250 grafts total.

 

Procedure

 

After the consultation, I began my procedure. They gave me some sedatives which honestly really helped to ease some of my nerves and started numbing the back of my scalp to do the extractions. I believe my doctor was Elif that did all my extractions and a new younger doctor named Bekir. I gotta say the numbing isn't as bad as people have made it out to be. It definitely doesn't feel good but I was thinking it would have been bad (but I just have a high pain tolerance). In the first session they extracted approximately 1k grafts. I think it was closer to 998 and then we took a quick break for lunch. When I came back they implanted it in the middle of my scalp to the back connecting through my mid scalp to the crown. I will say the first extraction really sucked because you are lying on your stomach in this awkward seat that you're supposed to put your face through but it doesnt fit and I feel like my jaw and face became really uncomfortable towards the end. I am really glad they only did about 1k grafts and not more.Then the second extraction after a small break was on my right side where Dr. Elif and Bekir were there for but Bekir started to separate some of the grafts apart with some of the techs. Once the extractions were done Dr. Bekir began to implant them into my recipient area. This was much easier since I was still lying on my side so I was starting to doze off quite a lot. Out of the 2 sessions for day 1 I had about 1732 grafts extracted and implanted (all from my scalp back to my scalp).

 

Before the extractions they gave me one antibiotic pill to take and gave me a pack of 14 to take for 7 days. Two times a day, morning and night between meals. I was also given some pain killers in case I felt any pain. 

 

I am currently writing the procedure portion and concluding the consultation right after my day 1 of operation. I will continue to write my journey as it progresses to keep this as patient and detailed as possible.

 

Day 2 procedure began with breakfast in the morning. I was awake all night. The only sleep I got was probably dozing off between the extractions and implantations during the first procedure. So probably an hour of actual sleep. Today was the same. I was dozing off but woke up quite often to do some of the sharp pain from the incision closer to my temple points. It wasn't excuritiating, just sharp pins I could feel. I sucked it up for a few minutes but then when it got closer and closer to my temples I could feel the intensity between each punch

made so I spoke up and they administered more local anesthesia. I hoped they would have just added it closer to where I felt pain but they added a few shots I believe to the surrounding tissue, which isn't an issue but I want to keep the fluids, punches, and all other things that contribute to damage as minimal as possible. I'm just trying to mitigate any type of collateral damage or shock loss by thinking about the worst possible outcomes. I am confident that the surgeon has enough skill to bypass this issue but I always want things to be perfect. I took my second day antibiotics for the day between my meals and was give coritosonal steroids to help with inflammation and swelling along with a stomach medication to help my digestive system (since antibiotics and oral steroids will pretty much dry out your stomach by killing your gut health).

 

I must say though, I am very sleep deprived and tired. Eating felt like a chore and I did not want to eat. I felt the sensation of forcing myself to eat. It's like that sensation where you aren't hungry because you have nausea because you didn't eat and if you don't eat you won't get better. I wasn't nauseous per say but I felt like I would stand up too fast and the blood rush went to my head for a few moments... but it was constantly cloudy.

 

At the end of day 2 we finished the remaining grafts that were going to be put in and I ended up getting an additional 2 grafts. I think they may have extracted two extra and counted that in the end which I am ok with So total grafts implanted were 3,252 instead of the 3,250

 

Overall, there were new patients that I enjoyed interacting with, some who were already there the previous days that I did not see and some that were getting their final check up. Honestly, it was really nice to meet people from different backgrounds. I was joking with a very friendly German man. I told him I would fight him because he had better hair then me and I need to take his results one way or another lol. Overall I think there were some really friendly people all around who all faced the hair struggling battle which was refreshing to be able to relate to them openly. The staff themselves were also friendly which made the whole process very simple and pleasurable.

 

I am writing this now at the end of day 2 and I am planning to post this since tomorrow is my final check up where they remove bandages and take photos using their camera. I have requested to get the photos and I have requested to do PRP as well. I will update this post in the future to include both their photos and the ones I have taken. If you give me some time I will post my results in the coming days. For now, I only wish to share my story as it is and will update you along my journey. Thank you for following this long post and I hope it helps to serve any other people in my position or help guide people with questions. I am sure this will probably lead to more questions so please feel free to ask. I will update you with honest answers as much as possible in the best capacity possible. I have photos pre Fin/1 year post Fin/post Dut results if you want to see just let me know I will dig for them when I am back in the states.

 

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by Vann

[Vann]

These are day 1 photos from the consultation to the first session and second session. 

[Vann]

Day 2 photos

[Vann]

I ended up having the photos from pre fin/1year fin/1 year dut thanks to google being creepy and saving everything.

[Melvin- Admin]

Happy growing Vann, thank your for participating in our community. I look forward to following your progress 🙌🏼

[Vann]

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Happy growing Vann, thank your for participating in our community. I look forward to following your progress 🙌🏼

Cheers Melvin. I also gave some people your information on your YouTube channels so you’ll probably get some dms here sometime in the future. Most of the questions were about fin sides but nonetheless +2 extra subs! 

Edited June 30, 2022 by Vann

[Vann]

Post op day 1 I had my final check in and had my bandages removed and was given post op care, saline spray, lotion for donor, meds, and other basic stuff.

i will say my forehead is definitely showing the swelling. I am starting to look like a beluga whale.

 

I am waiting for the pre/post op photos that the clinic took and will share those as 🐋

[Vann]

Some photos taken by the clinic.

Edit: Some of the photos failed to load so they are out of order. So I readded them through my phone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Vann

[sukh123]

A lot more doubles were taken than triples usually there in stead or similar , you know why this was 

[MachoVato]

Funny story about your jetlag, haha!

One thing that HLC does that I don't see in other places, is the conversation about graft density and options. Usually, it is "you need 2500 grafts" and then they draw lines. HLC draws the different zones on your scalp, gives options to different densities, etc. And the grafts you need is based on the Area X Density. I'm sure others do it, but I haven't seen it. 

Take care of those grafts! I'll watch your journey!

[Vann]

49 minutes ago, sukh123 said:

A lot more doubles were taken than triples usually there in stead or similar , you know why this was 

I don’t know exactly why that was. But there are definitely a lot of doubles.

 

40 minutes ago, MachoVato said:

Funny story about your jetlag, haha!

One thing that HLC does that I don't see in other places, is the conversation about graft density and options. Usually, it is "you need 2500 grafts" and then they draw lines. HLC draws the different zones on your scalp, gives options to different densities, etc. And the grafts you need is based on the Area X Density. I'm sure others do it, but I haven't seen it. 

Take care of those grafts! I'll watch your journey!

Yeah they drew out 3 different zones. I barely touched my hairline and they showed me where I can lower it with x amount of grafts but I only had density added and some the ends closed to my temple peaks. So zone 1 isn’t much to look at.

Zone 2 was my major point I wanted done along with some connection to the crown but when they shaved my head down it looked worse than I figured so I definitely kept it more conservative once they went over the head shape and density either 40 or 30. In my head I was like imma need those extra 750 grafts.

 

[gxm100]

Looks great! I think this will be an outstanding result, especially considering the native hair you have left and your hair texture. Definitely following

[Vann]

1 hour ago, gxm100 said:

Looks great! I think this will be an outstanding result, especially considering the native hair you have left and your hair texture. Definitely following

Thanks man, considering you just had yours about 3 weeks ago I am also excited to see where you turn out. Its not a good measure since we are different but at least if we are at the same pace it would be nice. Hopefully we both get banger results.

[RTC]

Nice work, I'm interested to see how the hairline in particular pans out - did you ask for the jagged style of design or did they choose it?

[Vann]

3 minutes ago, Aslitarcan sucks said:

Nice work, I'm interested to see how the hairline in particular pans out - did you ask for the jagged style of design or did they choose it?

So for my hairline it wasnt too bad. I didnt want it worked on too much I just wanted it fixed a bit with some density. They said they could lower it but I have always had a slightly bigger forehead so I really didnt care about that. Out of all my hair loss I think my hairline was barely receded so I was alright with just tweaking it a little to have more density and fill some corners of my temple points meeting the hairline. I think they make the jagged look because they want to make it more natural. I didnt necessarily ask for it I think its how they planned it based off their design to give it more naturalness.

[Vann]

Day 6 update. I am ready to wash these scabs off. 

[Du90]

Hey man! 
It's great to see your post. It's Omar from the clinic we met on my first day there.
Your results are looking great bud hope we both are super satisified 😁

Although I stupidly insisted on a hairline that I thought was symmetrical (even though the doctors insisted it wasn't) so now I'm considering a followup session in 6 months to do my crown and fix the very slight asymmetry I have.

[Vann]

17 minutes ago, Du90 said:

Hey man! 
It's great to see your post. It's Omar from the clinic we met on my first day there.
Your results are looking great bud hope we both are super satisified 😁

Although I stupidly insisted on a hairline that I thought was symmetrical (even though the doctors insisted it wasn't) so now I'm considering a followup session in 6 months to do my crown and fix the very slight asymmetry I have.

Hey man! How did everything turn out for you? I think you should give yourself the full year and see how it turns out before you do another operation. You might end up liking the way it turns out.

[sukh123]

20 minutes ago, Du90 said:

Hey man! 
It's great to see your post. It's Omar from the clinic we met on my first day there.
Your results are looking great bud hope we both are super satisified 😁

Although I stupidly insisted on a hairline that I thought was symmetrical (even though the doctors insisted it wasn't) so now I'm considering a followup session in 6 months to do my crown and fix the very slight asymmetry I have.

Most hairlines are asymmetrical where one one side is more higher than the others, I assume you wanted the other side to be as straight as the other temple 

[Du90]

9 hours ago, Vann said:

Hey man! How did everything turn out for you? I think you should give yourself the full year and see how it turns out before you do another operation. You might end up liking the way it turns out.

I hope so man, I was kicking myself after the surgery because I insisted on what I thought was symmetrical 😂😟

[Du90]

9 hours ago, sukh123 said:

Most hairlines are asymmetrical where one one side is more higher than the others, I assume you wanted the other side to be as straight as the other temple 

Yeah man I was aiming to have them look symmetrical but I ended up putting one side at a slightly higher angle. I'll attached a photo below.
I hope I like it over time.

[Vann]

2 hours ago, Du90 said:

Yeah man I was aiming to have them look symmetrical but I ended up putting one side at a slightly higher angle. I'll attached a photo below.
I hope I like it over time.

It’s a good start you can always address it after your crown has been worked on. It might have been a more conservative mature hairline that will fit you once it grows out.

[Du90]

10 minutes ago, Vann said:

It’s a good start you can always address it after your crown has been worked on. It might have been a more conservative mature hairline that will fit you once it grows out.

Yeah I'm thinking to address it when I'm doing my crown if it's an issue at that point.  Thanks ☺️

[Vann]

10 days post op. Most do the scabs came off there are a few lingering ones that remain.

photo taken in front of a window to show natural lighting.

[THE TRUTH]

Any hairs in the scabs bruh ?